Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1887-06-23

VIII shoot you dead, SO help me God!"
saw that was cornered, and must
confess that l felt sheepish as we'll as sore
over the turn affairs had taken. For ten
minutes l said not word, nor did my
captor. Then as gnzed upon the hand
some woman before me and thought on how
had actually fallen in love with her, and
(worse thought of ally had told her SO, 1
could not help smiling--a sickly smile,
perhaps.
ITS too bad, Mr.. Sharpe, after all your
kindness to me-" laughed Mrs. Ball, "but
1T is clear case of self-defense, you must
admit. Two hours will soon slip by, any
way"
Notwithstanding which remark, however,
they were the longest two hours I ever
spent.
1t was quarter past six, perhaps, when
Mrs. Ball backed toward the door of the
Office, which, by the way, was small,
isolated building in the center of the large
yard, all the time keeping me well covered
with her pistol. Then, quick rs lightning,
she opened the door, slipped out and
turned the key on tho outside. I
rushed from my seat and tried to force the
door, but 1t wsuld not give way to my re-
peated efforts, and l was compelled to
make my escape through window.
1t was late in the fall, and darkness had
already settled over everything, SO my
smart and pretty operator and erstwhile
sweetheart escaped.
The robberies on the Missouri River
Broad Guage came to an end; but, alas for
sny professional pride, l never caught the
culprits, and am afraid never told the
whole truth of the sudden disappearance
of the operator.
Seven years later business took me to n
small mining town in the far West. While
there notable crook was captured, on nc
count of big robbery which had involved
the perpetrator in murder. A night or two
after, when l was in my bed sound asleep,
the landlord of the hotel came to me aud
asked if would like to see Judge Lynch
at work-if SO, to get up at once and follow
him.
Half an hour later we were in lonely
gully outside the town, where the brilliant
light of the moon revealed strange, weird
scene. Instead of being hung the prisoner
was to be shot, and he stood erect, with
his hands bound behind him and
his feet tied together. About fifteen
PAGES away stood the firing squad of five
men, with their Winchester rifles loaded,
awaiting orders to fire. Perhaps fifty or
sixty masked men were in the immediate
vicinity.
Midway between the culprit and his exc
cutioners stood Judge Lynch's head man,
who presently asked in subdued tone,
Gall ready?"
A dead silence was apparently taken us
an affirmative reply, for he proceeded:
aOne!"
"Two!"
"Three!" aFire!"
Five flashes, but only one report-and
at that very instant shrieking woman ran
up to the doomed man and threw her arms
around his neck. Every one of those five
balls told with Fearful precision, and both
the man and the woman who clung to him
fell-dead.
sauntered up with the rest of the crowd
out of curiosity to see Judge Lynch's vic
Tins. The man was Tim Ball; the woman
was his wife, who had been my operator at
Prairie Flower, seven years before.
THE BLaCK VIRGIN IN Il CUBAN
CHURCH.
The churches are an interesting study
in Havana, and you may spend hours in
the hoary old cathedral, where the
bones of Columbus are supposed to be
entombed, most pleasantly. There the
church rules with rod of iron as it
does wherever ignorance and supersti-
tion prevail. The Blue Convent at
Regla is devoted to the black or negro
Virgin Mary. The scene is thus de-
scribed by writer who witnessed the
ceremony of public festival at Regla:
"The representative of the sable Virgin
sits on throne above lofty altar hold
ing an infant Jesus in her hands;
formidable line Of followers supports
the sable Queen, all supposed to be
angels; some in short tunics with he'll
NETS and feathers, others decorated
with plumes and flowers, tie whole
gorgeously covered with tin foil, cop
per, hieroglyphics, and plated orna-
ments such as are seen on coffin.
Near the center of the church is figure
larger than life of ourSavior on the cross,
in faxen wig and flowing curls, the
blood oozing from the wounds in His
hands, feet, and side, while below stands
the Virgin, of white complexion, a
fat-faced, highly-rouged, portly figure,
with auburn tresses, perfumed and
dressed in the last mode, her clothing
fashionable blue embroidered gown,
lace mantilla, white satin shoes, and in
her hand the characteristic fan; large
wax tears stand out in bold relief under
her eyes, and to represent the pain she
is enduring dagger appears in her
left side, the hilt projecting from be-
meath her breast" l saw in the Church
of st. Augustine and others these hide
ous effigies of the Savior and the Vir-
gin, but only in the Regla Church is
the Virgin represented in one effigy as
u ucs5 --41uOufCt tCGtCfs
HONEsT but RUDE
"I'm thinking of writing for the
press, said a lady to Grabbed old ed
itor.
well, you'd better go at space
work.
"Do you think would succeed best
at that?"
Eyes"
"Why?"
Because all you women know how to
pad so well. Tile Earth.
Il No RULES can make amiability; our